Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Dane Flammond, Havre High Wrestling

When it comes to Dane Flammond, there is no question that he has had an outstanding high school wrestling career.

Yet even he will tell you, there is something missing from his resume and that is an individual state championship.

"That's what I am keeping my focus on right now," Flammond said as the Havre High wrestling team gets ready for the Eastern A Divisional this Saturday. "Last year, I came up short and this year, I really want to get to finals and take state."

Flammond, who won a divisional title at 160 pounds last season, will look to win another one this weekend in Glendive. For him and all the Blue Ponies, divisionals is the true start on the path to state. Wrestlers have to finish in the top eight to earn a berth into the state tournament at the Class A level.

However, Flammond, who has finished third at state in each of the past two seasons, said for him, it just feels like another tournament.

"I want to win and I think it's important," Flammond said. "But it doesn't have that same feel that state does. There is just an electricity in the air at state that you can just feel. But I am looking forward to it. It's exciting to see how far everyone has come and how much everyone has improved by the end of the year."

While Flammond is looking for the perfect ending to his wrestling career, the truth is that he is more than a one-sport athlete. The senior excelled on the football field this past season for the Ponies, earning Second-Team All-Conference honors at linebacker in the Central A. He also played well as a running back and scored a number of rushing touchdowns.

With graduation upcoming, Flammond is also getting it done in the classroom and said he plans to attend Montana State University in Bozeman, where he said he will study engineering.

Flammond, who has had a stellar senior season in wrestling, finishing fourth at the Tri-State tournament in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, as well as second in the Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic in Missoula, is looking for just the right way to finish it - with a state championship.

That quest starts this week at divisionals, but before Flammond and Havre head to Glendive to take on the rest of the Eastern A, the Havre Daily News caught up the 160-pounder for five questions.

HDN: As of right now, what would you say is the biggest match that you have won?

Flammond: "It's hard to say. There have been so many matches over the years. Any match and any personal win is very important to me."

HDN: What do you think has been your best achievement so far?

Flammond: "I think my best accomplishment this year was taking fourth at Tri-State. That was a big accomplishment to me. Even though I did lose that last match, it was an accomplishment for me to get that far at Tri-State."

HDN: How do you think wrestling in tough matches like that has helped you improve:

Flammond: "I think that it's just shown me what's out there. Sometimes, when I wrestle in some of these smaller tournaments, you don't get that broader view, but you go to Tri-State, you get that broad view. You get to see different wrestlers and different teams. I think it made me a better wrestler because it opened my eyes and made me realize how much better I needed to be to accomplish my goals in wrestling."

HDN: What do you think makes Scott Filius such a great coach?

Flammond: "I think a lot of it is just the way he can push us. The program that he has set up since we were young really is a big part of it. But he always pushed us and taught us hard work. He would teach us technique and things that like, too, but most importantly, I think, he taught us hard work."

HDN: What would it mean for you to win an individual state championship?

Flammond: "It would mean the world to me. Just knowing that the last 10 or 15 years of hard work have paid off and there would be no better way to leave the wrestling season than with a divisional and state championship. That would be the greatest way to walk out of the sport that basically raised me."